Our Duties
by Embediya
Summary: Sequel to Reminiscing. The Salazar brothers try to fix their dilemma, but as the night gets later, their problems seem to grow... Rated T for violence. 5 chapters.
1. Brothers' Conflict

It was 9 o'clock at night. Rex and Cesar Salazar had just had a spat over the importance of family, due to Cesar's original objective before he found his little brother. Rex had gone back to his room and cried himself to sleep, hugging their family photo album. Cesar had gone back to his lab.

Cesar had fled the room, Six's room, bawling. He dashed through the winding halls, trying to find his way back to the hangar. He brushed past Six and several Providence agents, but didn't really notice. He just wanted to get away. Away from the guilt. Away from the suffering he caused. His sprint slowed to a sluggish walk. He made the rest of his trek at this pace. By the time he got back to the hangar, it was 10. He meandered into his lab, sluggish still. Upon entering, he looked around. Random devices, most of them half-finished, covered the few worktops. The dusty box where the album was sat empty, excluding some papers, in the corner. Cesar sighed.

"Look at this." He mumbled to himself. "All I've been doing is wasting time, and I can't even find the time to finish any of this!" He looked the small trinkets over. "You always get so distracted. First one idea, then you think of something else." He picked up an old project and turned it over in his hands. It was a magnetic field generator, half-finished. He put it back down among its unfinished companions and sighed. "Some genius you are." Cesar looked down over the devices again. "Maybe…" He thought it over. He could do what he had always done. He could work, maybe finish some of these old projects. Nothing seemed to bother him when he tinkered. He scooped up the field generator and placed it down next to the selenium tracker. He stopped, staring at the tracker. "Why don't I finish that?" he said, thinking back to his endeavors earlier that day. "There's not much to do…" He spurred around and picked the welder and goggles off of the other work table. Placing the goggles over his eyes, he said to himself, "Just a couple welds, right? Shouldn't be too much. Oh! The screen! Where did I put that? I must've-" Cesar stopped. He looked over at the unfinished tracker. He took his goggles back off and put the welder down. "Why should I?" He sighed. "He probably doesn't want me around, anyway." Cesar sat down and crossed his arms on the table, using them as a headrest. He closed his eyes. He opened them a moment later. "There's no way I'm going to be able sleep." he almost growled. He sighed into his arms, thinking. Of all the knowledge he had, one thing came up. Studying sciences meant he was exposed to more than just technology. Human sciences were some of the most important. What he thought of now was more psychology. He didn't know it well, but it was a simple solution. He picked his head up. "I need to talk to someone…other than myself." Cesar lifted his hand and scratched his head. "But who?" He looked around. No clock. -Laptop!- he thought. Cesar wheeled his chair over to the computer and brought up the desktop. "Eleven o'clock? Who would want to talk to me, or even be awake at this hour? Think, Cesar, think! Ugggh!" Frustrated, he slammed his head down on the table. "A random agent might think I'm doing something. Do they even live here or what?...Agent Six scares me…and doesn't trust me. Rex hates me right now…the chimp is crude…and also sleeps in Rex's room…" Cesar growled. "Is there no one to talk to?...Not at 11:10 at night, Cesar." He lifted both hands over his head and ruffled his hair. "The White Knight _despises anyone,_" he chuckled. Then it came to him. "Holiday! Si! She will listen! Kind, compassionate- possibly awake at this hour." Cesar stood up from his chair with confidence, and almost fell down. He began to tumble backwards and grabbed the chair for support. With the sudden, uneven weight and force, the chair rolled backward and sent Cesar flat on his back. The air was knocked out of him with a puff. He stood back up shakily. "Okay. Ugh. Caution. Need to be more careful." he wheezed. He stood up straight and breathed deep. "Where would she be…? The lab, maybe?" Cesar thought and found himself dumbfounded. "I don't know where else she _could_ be." He sighed again. "This is what I get for being a hermit. Well, I can only try." Cesar padded over to the door and stepped out onto the elevator using the utmost caution. A fall from this height, maybe 3 stories, would either give him a concussion or kill him. The latter, he thought, is more likely. The elevator descended slowly. When it reached the ground, Cesar stepped off and looked around. Not an agent in sight. He turned his attention back to the task at hand. "Let's see. It's past the Petting Zoo, right? A turn here, a turn there. I just hope she'll be there." Cesar plodded out of the hangar and down the halls. He stopped by Rex's door. He didn't have far to go and he had time. It was already around midnight, anyway. He leaned in and put an ear to the door. No snoring or even talking. He came back up and sighed. He knew his brother and if there wasn't even a light snore, he wasn't sleeping. He started to turn away when he heard a quiet sound from behind the door. Short, barely rhythmic squeaks. He leaned against the door again and listened more closely. They weren't squeaks. He pulled away once more. They were quiet sobs. Cesar began to reconsider. The chances of Holiday being awake were slim. Not as slim as most, but still pretty slim. It was going to lead to this, anyway. Talking to him was unavoidable. Cesar willed himself to open the door, led by his older brother instinct. Even if he didn't want to see him, he needed to talk to him. While entering the room, Cesar remembered a quote from book he skimmed once. '_You and I are flesh and blood. I'm always going to be there for you, even if it's only as an obstacle for you to overcome. Even if you do hate me. That's what big brothers are for.__'_


	2. Guilt

The door hissed slightly and Cesar peered around it. Rex was curled up on the bed, holding his knees to his chest. Cesar didn't even dare to walk in any further.

"Are you up?" he whispered into the dark room. Rex's bloodshot eyes rolled up and bore into his brother.

"How could I sleep?" he sniffled. Cesar felt the guilt come back. It wrenched in his heart.

"I thought we could talk, maybe." Cesar stared hopefully at his brother.

"Haven't you done enough?" he hissed back. This made Cesar cringe.

"I wanted to apologize."

"I don't want to hear it."

"I was wrong. I understand that."

"You think?" Cesar closed his eyes and sighed for the billionth time that day. He found the strength to walk in and sit down by his brother on the bed. Rex wasn't going to have it. He let his knees go and attacked his brother in one motion. One arm swung back and thrust his fist into his brother's shoulder. Cesar let out a whimper. The other fist followed. The motion continued, one punch, then another. The series of punching and whimpering went on. Each punch drove deep into Cesar's arm, almost touching bone. A normal punch was one thing. Several punches from a teenager who grew and used giant machines was another completely. Cesar had finally had enough. He swung his arm to fend the attack away with tears streaming down his face. It only delayed it. Rex wasn't aware of what had happened, since his eyes were closed. So, his attack continued, unaltered. The next shot his Cesar in the jaw since his arm was no longer in the way. His head flung back and the cracking of bones shuddered in the air. Rex's eyes snapped open. He stared on in shock as his brother's head flew back and cracked off the wall. A few drops of blood spluttered from his lips and splattered on the wall. His body slumped over, one arm fallen to his side and the other draped across his lap. A web of cracks was present where Cesar's head hit the wall. Rex uttered a quiet gasp.

"I killed him, I killed him, I killed him, I killed him, oh god." Rex held his hands over his mouth. He began to hyperventilate. Still kneeling, he inched slowly over to his unmoving brother. "Cesar? You okay?" Rex began to reach over. The steeper slope of the mattress from Rex moving closer caused Cesar to topple over towards him. He fell directly into his lap.

Rex freaked out. He flailed and backed away as fast as possible, leaving his brother to fall down onto the mattress. Rex stared at him in fear. He then felt something under his butt. Confused, he looked down. He had ended up sitting on his pillow. Realizing this, an idea formed. Rex tilted his body and scooted the pillow out from under him. He held it in front of him as his butt met the bed with a 'whump'. He peered up over it to look at his brother. He still wasn't moving.

" 'Kay. Here goes…" Rex grabbed the pillow at one end. He lifted it slightly and brought it down on Cesar's head. He repeated this a few times, only making his brother's hair flutter a little. "Why-won't-you-wake-up?" Rex grunted in between pillow smacks. He sighed and let the pillow fall into his lap. "Well, I killed him alright." Thinking it over, Rex inched over again and brought his head level with his brother's. He looked at his face inquisitively. His eyes were closed and a line of blood ran from his slightly open mouth and trickled down his cheek onto the bed. Rex inhaled through his teeth. "Yep. Dead." He sat back up and looked around the room. He scratched his chin. "Would Six care? Psh, nah…Holiday…maybe." He perked up, alarmed. "I'm a murderer! Oh jeez, oh man!" Rex began to pace nervously. "I can't be a murderer! I'm a hero! Heroes don't kill people! …Do they? …No! No, no, no. Mraaaaaaaaah." He scooped the pillow back up and smashed it into his face. He groaned into it, still pacing. He stopped and began to bite the pillow angrily. "Thish ish shtupid!" he growled, muffled, into the pillow. He turned and threw the pillow at the door. He turned back, groaning. "Wait." A 90-degree turn ended him up facing the dresser. His phone sat by the corner. Rex walked over and picked it up. He unlocked it and began to scroll through his contacts. "I can't rust anyone in Providence. So…who can I tell? …Man, murder's hard." Rex scanned the short list. His eyes focused on Noah's name. "Yeah, Noah! He'd- wait. I know Noah 'cause he was a spy for Knight. Jeez. Sorry Noah." Rex began to scan the list again. His face brightened up. "Circe. Yeah! I mean- hmm…What time is it, anyway?" Rex escaped from the contacts and looked at the top-right corner of his screen. "Midnight? …She can't hate me forever, right?" Rex re-opened the contacts and selected Circe's name. He ground his teeth as the phone rang on the other end.


	3. Catching Up

Circe and the gang were busy with lunch. The day had been pretty normal, like all the others. It was nice, not to be bothered by Pack duties. No pedo breathing on your neck every step you took or his lapdog harassing you about what you're supposed to be doing. Yep. Life was good.

Then the phone rang. Everyone's heads turned to the barrel, which the phone vibrated on. Circe set her chopsticks down and got up. "That's for me." She said with a chuckle. She walked over and picked up the phone. –Rex? I wonder what he wants. Isn't it, like, midnight over there?- Circe sat on the bed and answered the phone.

"Hi, Rex. What's up?" Rex was relieved she answered. He had completely forgotten about the time zones.

"Sorry to wake you up, Circe, but-"

"Rex, all you did was interrupt lunch. Speaking of, do you have a thing for interrupting meals?"

"Wha…" Rex slapped himself in the forehead. "Yeah, yeah. I knew that. But it was funny, right? HAHA."

"Yeah, 'course you did."

"Well, jokes aside, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, anything."

"Okay…here goes. I…killed my brother." Circe sat on the bed, at a loss for words.

"…You have a brother? When were you going to tell me that?"

"Uh…I found out maybe a month or so ago…?"

" 'Found out'?"

"Yeah. Amnesia, remember?"

"What does any of this have to do with a game?"

"Not a game! …Wait, what game?"

"It's this horror game. You're this guy named Daniel and you're stuck in a castle with monsters trying to kill you. Skwydd showed it to me. It's pretty fun once you stop screaming."

"…O…kay…"

"I could e-mail you a video."

"I don't have e-mail."

"No?"

"Nah."

"That's too bad."

"Well, Providence can't have their secret weapon blabbing info across the web, y'know?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, your brother?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh…hmm."

"What's up?"

"I don't know where to start…"

"Well, how about why?"

"Why. Okay. Um, he kind of made me mad."

"That is so not a reason to kill someone. Okay. How?"

"He yelled at me then came in my room and I didn't want him near me. So I punched him."

"How's that kill someone?" Circe snorted.

"He hit the wall! Then there were cracks and-and blood and-"

"Whoa, Rex. Chill out a sec. Give me a second, okay?" Circe covered the microphone and looked at the gang. Tuck and Cricket were looking back, jaws dropped. Skwydd turned his head and said with his mouth full, "Wrong amnesia, Circ." Circe cocked her head. Cricket turned to Tuck and tapped his mouth shut. She then turned to Circe.

"Sometimes, Rex forgets things. Like, everything. It's only happened a few times with us."

"Oh…" Circe took her hand off of the microphone and held the phone back up to her ear.

"Okay, Rex. Let's try this again. What happened?" Rex inhaled deeply.

"I-I punched him. But I was punching him in the shoulder. Then I heard a really bad cracking noise, so I opened my eyes."

"Right, right."

"His head was going back and it hit the wall. Hard. When he slumped over, there was blood and a bunch of cracks."

"Sounds bad."

"Yeah. Now there's blood coming from his mouth and he's not moving."

"Did you check his pulse? Is he breathing?"

"Uh…" Of course he hadn't. But, Circe probably knew what she was doing. "No."

"Well, do that."

"Uh…"

"See if his chest's moving or put your fingers in the side of his neck." Rex jerked back. –In his neck?-

"If you say so." Rex put the phone down on the bed and inched over to Cesar. He held one arm to his chest and put the other out. It began to shake and he brought it back.

"Guh." He sighed. Rex picked the phone back up and put it on speaker.

"So?" Circe crackled over the phone.

"I didn't do it yet."

"Why not?"

"I'm scared."

"Really? You fight giant monsters for a living."

"I didn't want to kill a man!"

"You don't know if you did! Now, do what you have to do and get it over with!" Rex sighed and put the phone down for a second attempt. He reached out once more and lightly batted his hand, tipping Cesar over on his back. A spot of blood had formed when he was on his side and was now next to him. Rex shuddered. He inched closer and brought his head level with his chest. There was a slight rising and falling motion. Rex turned back to the phone.

"He's breathing."

"That's good."

"So I didn't kill him?"

"Yeah. Check his pulse, though." Rex groaned. He turned back to Cesar and placed his fingers on his neck as instructed. A slow pulse thudded against his fingertips. He pulled them away and held his hand over his heart.

"Thank god." He whispered. Rex turned to the phone once more. "He's okay. Just unconscious."

"That's great, Rex. But knowing how strong you are, you may have given him a concussion if anything." Circe just realized what she had said. It almost -no- it _did_ sound flattering. She felt a dribble of saliva find its way to the corner of her mouth. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

Rex's attention stayed on Cesar. "I didn't kill him." He breathed a sigh of relief. Then something pricked in the back of his mind. "But I could. Should I?" The thought played over and over. It wouldn't be too hard. He couldn't resist in his state. He could suffocate him with the pillow, choke him, or keep punching him but with more force and precision. So many options. How hard could it really be? Rex shook his head. "No, no. I couldn't. You couldn't deal with almost killing him on accident, Rex. If you _did_ on purpose…" He glanced again at his brother. "What would you do with all that guilt?" The anger began to build. "How could you even think that?" He began to bash his temples with his palms.

Rex had also forgotten the phone was still on. Circe listened on, flabbergasted. He obviously wasn't talking to her anymore, but still. Her head snapped around. Her eyes bore into the other EVOs. "We need to get there _**now**_." Tuck finally spoke up.

"We can't. Fastest we'd get there would be…maybe three days."

"Then I'll find a way." Circe hissed. She scooped up the phone and ran out of the hideout, determined to get to Rex and be there for him, no matter what it took.


	4. No Matter What

Rex had been pounding on his head so much that he had almost gotten a headache. He was frightened and ashamed that he would think of such things. Thoughts similar to the first repeated. Nothing he did helped his condition. Then it hit him. The tanto. His head turned again to the dresser as he eyed the slender black box. Rex's body moved unconsciously, dragging him over.

Circe had floundered her way through the streets of Hong Kong as she muddled through her thoughts. –Plane? Too expensive, too slow. Boat? Still too slow. There's no way!- Circe stopped. There was one way, but it was a long shot. Breach. There was no way to contact her, not that she would want to. Circe dropped her head and began to cry. There was nothing she could do.

People say miracles are for dreamers. Can't we all dream?

As if Circe's cries were as clear as day, Breach appeared behind her. People fled in all directions, terrified. Circe's head lolled up. She pivoted and faced Breach.

"No…way. How'd you know…?"

"My ears were ringing." Breach responded in her singsong tone. Circe was ecstatic, not that she'd show it. Her expression turned from shocked to glowering.

"What do you want?" Breach grinned.

"I'll think about it. But in the meantime, I'll help you."

"Quit reading my mind…you can't even do that."

"I can read you like a book, Cir-cir."

"Don't call me that."

"Oops," Breach trilled, "I already did. Hee-hee." Circe didn't like this. But, it was the only way. Especially to get past Providence's max security.

"Fine. Take me to Providence. As fast as-"

"What're you talking about? You're already here…" Breach's voice was there and gone, hanging in the air. Circe felt her spine tingle. She hated that bitch. Circe looked around. She was in a hallway, gray with several tubes of sorts. Creepy. There were a few doors. She turned to see one right behind her.

"So…this is Providence." She droned. "Lame." Circe put her head down for a moment, thinking. –Breach knew I wanted to come here before I told her. 'I'll help you.' So she knew why I wanted to come, too. I wouldn't expect any less from that creepy little psycho. Does that mean this is Rex's room?- "Huh?" The door was open a crack. Circe cocked her head and slid her hand into the sliver between the door and doorframe. She shoved the door and it slid the rest of the way into the slot. The room was dark. There was the faint shape of a large box by the wall and a few blobs on the left. Circe brought her hand to the closest wall by the door and fumbled for a light switch. She found one and flicked it on.


	5. With Love

There was a slender box on the dresser, flipped open and empty. The hammock hanging between the pipes shook with a heavy lump sunk in it, obviously full. Then Circe made the mistake of turning to the bed. She gasped and stumbled back at the horrid sight. Cesar was still unconscious, but Rex was fully awake. His eyes were wide and his pupils small. His face, shirt, and sheets were splattered with blood. The tanto was in his right hand and was coated in blood as well. His left hand was completely red with blood from a large, deep, clean gash. Circe almost felt herself vomit as Rex hacked into the gash again, splashing more blood. She ran over and shook him.

"Rex! Stop it! What're you doing?" There was no reply. Rex continued to stare blankly at the wall, hacking at his hand. Circe began to panic. This was crazy! This wasn't like him at all! What could've driven him to do this? From the end of the bed, Cesar groaned. His head rolled a little. Circe quickly scooted over to him.

"Are you okay?"

"Grruuuh?"

"Are. You. Okay?"

"Um…" Cesar rubbed his eyes. "I have…a headache. And it hurts to talk."

"Makes sense." Cesar's eyes opened. Circe was looming over him.

"Oh, hello."

"You've got to help me. Please. Rex is-"

"Wait." Cesar sat up. "You know Rex?"

"Long story. But, look! He's freaking cutting himself!" Cesar raised one eyebrow and turned his head, eyes closed.

"I'm not sure what you mean but—DIOS MIO!"

"See now?"

"Rex! What the hell are you doing? Stop!" Cesar yanked the tanto from Rex's hand and slapped him. Shocked by his own actions, Cesar dropped the tanto and it landed on the floor with a clatter. "Mijo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"I didn't want to." Rex replied quietly. Circe and Cesar wobbled back. Rex's head turned towards them. His eyes stared down at the bed. They were spilling over. "I didn't want to, but I kept thinking about it." He sobbed. "I didn't want to! I didn't, I swear!" Cesar looked back at Circe.

"Do you know what's going on here?"

"I think I do."

"Well?"

"It's not for me to say." Cesar turned back to Rex.

"What're you talking about, mijo?"

"I did- I didn't- I didn't want to-" Rex continued to sob.

"What, Rex?" Cesar inched towards his brother.

"You made me so mad, I just- I-I just- I thought- I thought I could, but I couldn't-"

"Rex, I don't understand."

"I-I-I wanted to- I didn't b-but I thought- it would've been so easy…you wouldn't have done anything- you couldn't!" Cesar grabbed his brother's shoulders and whispered calmly.

"What happened, Rex?" Rex sobbed again. He found himself whispering, too.

"I was gonna kill you…" Cesar reared back slightly. Rex's sobs grew more intense. "You- you weren't moving. I thought I killed you. But I-I didn't. And I thought about it and-and I thought I could, maybe. But I couldn't and-and—I just thought you hated me. I was dead to you. I thought, maybe, you could see- you could see mami and papi and-and-" Rex began to bawl. Cesar's expression softened. He pulled his brother close and hugged him.

"Don't cry. It's gonna be okay. I'm sorry, Rex. I didn't mean it like that. I'll always love you. Always." Circe stood up and sat on the bed.

"So…" Circe began. Cesar's head turned back to her. "You're his brother."

"Well, yes."

"…He's lucky to have you." Cesar stared at her. "I'd forgotten what real family was like. Thank you." Cesar smiled.

"Yeah, sure." There were many things Cesar wanted to do. However, Rex was still crying into him, even if it wasn't as intense as before. He turned his head and looked down. "There's someone here to see you, you know." Rex sniffled and looked up. Cesar grinned and looked back again. Rex tilted his head and unfurled to look over his brother's shoulder. Circe looked back at him and blushed.

"Hey, Rex." Rex's eyes widened as his thoughts raced. –Circe. Circe's here. Circe. Circe's RIGHT HERE. Circe. She-she- HOLY CRAP, SHE'S IN MY ROOM. Circe-Circe HERE. Right-freaking-here. Right- Oh my god.- Rex ended up not saying a word. His red face said it all. With a sigh, he fainted, falling as far as Cesar's death-grip of a hug let him. Cesar and Circe stared at him, befuddled. They turned back to each other.

"That was odd." Cesar began.

"You could say that." Circe said, still blushing. Cesar chuckled and lay his brother down. He plopped over by Circe at the end of the bed.

"So, I'm Cesar." He offered his hand. Circe stared at it.

"Circe." She chuckled as they shook hands. They pulled away from the shake and Cesar looked her over.

"Tell me something, if you would."

"Yeah, sure."

"How does a girl like yourself meet a boy like my brother?"

"Spring break. It's a long story."

"And of your relationship with him?"

"What? Why do you need to know?"

"You said you met at spring break. Also, he fainted at the sight of you-"

"Yeah…"

"-And you are blushing quite a bit, missy." Circe covered her mouth and nose.

"No! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't you now?" Cesar chuckled. "Ah, let's see here." He stood up and began to rummage in the dresser drawers. He came back and sat down holding a book. Circe looked at him confusedly. "I'll skim this later, maybe. But I think maybe I should show you something." He leaned down and grabbed the album off of the floor. Cesar went through the same odds and ends with the album as he did with Rex, along with some explanations, chuckling, and "Aws" with pictures. After that was done, Circe took her phone out and they began to skim her pictures from spring break. Cesar smiled, delighted.

"He's lucky to have a friend like you." Cesar sighed.

"He's lucky to have a brother like you." Circe returned. Rex rolled his head and groaned. Circe and Cesar spun their heads to look at him. Cesar turned back to Circe.

"Should I leave you alone?" He said with a grin.

"What? Why? We-we're friends! That's all!"

"I never said anything more than that, did I?" Circe's face turned red. Cesar chuckled. "I may be a scientist, but I'm an older brother first." Circe heard a fluttering of paper. She looked down to see Cesar's thumb between the open pages of the book he had picked up. He must've gone through it while they were looking at her photos! How'd she not notice that? That sneaky, little… Cesar passed the book over to Circe's lap. "I know how he feels…" He stood and went to the door. "I can tell you feel the same." The door hissed open and Cesar strolled out to the left. Circe found herself staring at the door, flabbergasted. Rex sat up and rubbed his eyes. Circe spun around again, her face completely red.

"Circe…must've been a-" Rex began and stopped as he picked up his head. "_Not_ a dream?" Rex closed his eyes and slapped his face with both hands, making a big, bloody stain on his left cheek. He reopened his eyes and stared in awe. "Not…a dream…"

"Rex!" Circe said in a somewhat scolding tone as she leaned forward. "Now you've got a big old handprint on your face!" Circe lifted her hand to his cheek and began to rub the blood away with her fingers. Rex made an almost pouting face as he closed his eyes. Suddenly, his hand flew up and caught Circe's, holding it lightly against his cheek. She gasped quietly. Their faces mirrored each other as they flushed pink. His brown eyes opened and stared directly into her crimson ones.

"Do you wanna stay here for a while?" he whispered.

"More than anything." she whispered back.

Cesar watched over a tampered-with security camera and password lock system as they leaned together and shared a kiss never completed during spring break. He smirked and broke the connection. He stood once more, scooping up the Salazar family photo album. "Well, mijo." He began to say as he strolled back to the hangar. "I believe the word is 'score'."


End file.
